Hurunui council considers reforms

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

By David Hill, local democracy reporter

How to ensure a local voice is retained is at the forefront of council deliberations, as the Hurunui District Council considers its submissions on the government’s reform agenda.

Centralisation appeared to be a common theme in the Resource Management Act (RMA) reform, Three Waters bills and the draft future of local government report, Hurunui mayor Marie Black says.

"There seems to be a trend to centralise everywhere, which would remove the local voice," Black said.

"We have a history of voicing our opinion in the Hurunui, but you can be swayed by the numbers."

Chief executive Hamish Dobbie said an unanswered question with the proposed Three Waters, four entity model, was how Hurunui would be represented.

"Will we get to sit in the room, because that seems unlikely, and then how will our voice be heard if we are not in the room."

The same concern was echoed when the council considered the other reforms.

The government introduced two bills last year, the Natural and Built Environment Bill and the Spatial Planning Bill, to replace the RMA.

A third, Climate Adaptation Bill, was due to be introduced later this year.
Among the proposed changes were regional plans to replace district plans.

Black said the district plan process provided an opportunity for local people to be engaged in the process.

But there was no guarantee there would be the same level of engagement at a regional level.

"Historical knowledge will be lost because it will be a much broader framework, so how can ordinary people be influential?"

Black and Dobbie welcomed the requirement for territorial authorities to have a statement of community outcomes, but they had some reservations.

"It means we can create a statement with a Hurunui lens, but that can easily be disregarded at a regional level," Black said.

Dobbie said the intent of replacing district plans with a regional plan was to speed up the process.

"I think the select committee will hear a variety of ideas from around the country and they need to listen to what local government has to say.

"We have been at the coalface delivering this for years."

Among the proposals in the draft future of local government report were scenarios for the future structure of local government.

These included moving to a unitary authority model with local community boards to ensure some local representation.

A population of no less than 70,000 was thought to be necessary to be sustainable.

With the hint of amalgamation in the air, Dobbie suggested Waimakariri consider "merging into us", rather than the other way around.

"I don’t know what amalgamation can really deliver, because if you take the local out then it is just government."

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